Is there really any reason to Hope?
by kyrialisa
Summary: Well this is my first fanfic. Never wrote a story for anyone, that wasn't an assignment in class. Lightning Farron has a past. Some parts people know, others she would rather carry to the grave. But she has found that her life has no meaning. She has no one left to protect. She unknowingly embarks on a quest to find meaning. Will she? Or is she destined to never have a purpose?
1. Intro

**Disclaimer***** I do not own final fantasy in any way shape or form nor do I own the picture. Sorry... I kind of used it.**

**So credit for the picture goes to lovefinalfantasy13 its absolutely wonderful.**

**I hope at least someone likes it. Like I said before in the summary, this is the first time I have wrote anything like this, had some ideas, thought someone might like them and so here it is.**

**Love **

**Kyrialisa**

Chapter one

Lightning Farron, sergeant of the guardian corps, was heading towards her commanding officer's office. She always walked with a purpose in what ever direction she was heading. She opened the door to the front of the building and held her head up high. Noticing the side glances that she got from everyone in the waiting room. Everyone knew her as a cold, ruthless, and calculated solder. And expected much worse in her personality outside of work. Lightning didn't care all that much, she could deal with being alone, she was alone ever since her sister, Sarah had decided to marry that loser of a man Snow. Many people moved out of her way, and she seemed to cut through the crowd like a hot knife through butter. As soon as she passed people they would stare at her in fear. The room slowly became silent as she walked through. She finally reached the elevator and pressed the button. Standing in front of the glass tube, she could see all the civilians inside. Thier faces turned in horror. The elevator landed, and as soon as the doors opened, they rushed out. Lightning walked in and pressed the button. then folded her arms and looked straight into the waiting room. It seemed as though a sigh of relief was let out of everyone as the doors closed. Lightning couldn't help but have a ghost of a smile on her face as she reached into her pocket and took out the key card that would allow her to go to the upper floors of the building. She quickly swiped it and replaced it back into its designated pocket.

"Welcome sergeant Farron." The computer said in a female voice. Lightning stood back in the middle, arms crossed and lapsed into her thoughts.

I can't believe Sarah invited me over for christmas. Could they really be that naive? Like I want to spend Christmas with that oaf. He can't even hold a candle to Serah. She was bright and witty and, well everything hes not! She could do so much...

She was pulled out of her thoughts as she heard a man yelling. He sounded extremely angry. Lightning heard a crash, and out of habit, she reached for her blazefire saber. The doors opened to slowly for Lightning. Turning on her soldier mode she quickly and quietly ran out of the doors and close to the wall.

"Please sir, if you could just listen to reason..." a lower pitched female voice said with some sort of authority. But she could still hear the fear that behind it.

"Oh no, you listen to me you are not sending my daughter on any missions anywhere!" A lamp that was on the desk of the assistant was now laying on the floor next to the wall in pieces.

"What in Etro's name is going on here!" Amodar said, clearly apprehensive. "Woah, sir please calm down and lower your weapon."

At the sound of that Lightning's head had a rush of adrenaline. Weapon pulled out quietly from its holster. It was well oiled so no sound would be made from the hard leather. Lightning put her body in its position and looked around the corner at the scene.

The attacker was wearing plain civilian clothes. A brown, worn, leather jacket and dark blue jeans that were frayed at the end. Dust covered him and he had paint splatters all over. He held a simple handgun, 9mm, cocked and ready to shoot. The look of fear and anger was apparent in his eyes.

He probably works hard for his money and has struggled to pay for everything. His daughter is probably the last thing he has, and would do anything not to lose her.

"No, you pull her off the mission! Now! Shes too young and a girl at that! NO FEMALE SHOULD EVER SEE THE WAYS OF BATTLE!" He continued on as Lightning stalked towards him. His back was turned to Lightning. She stayed low and in a soundless run got right behind him. With the gun right up against his back Lightning began to speak in a low growl.

"Put the gun down, now." Lightnings voice was as cold as ice. The man began to shake violently. He slowly lowered the gun to his side. "Okay now i'm going to take the gun and you are going to get on your knees on the floor. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am." He held the gun slightly behind him. Lightning grabbed it and cleared the barrel and took out the clip in fluid motions. She then threw it to the side so he could not reclaim it.

"Very good, now lay down on your stomach." He did what Lightning told him to do. Lightning took a step back, and looked at her commanding officer,still holding her gunblade at him. Seconds later, more guardian officers walked into the room. They handcuffed him and saluted. They exited the room, but not before she caught a glance of the man's face. Silent tears rolled down his face. And a look of pity was all to clear.

He feels sorry for me? Why?

"Sir." Lightning turned towards Amodar. He waved his hand back. Signaling for her to follow him back to his office. As lightning walked through the door she briefly looked at the assistant. She was clearly shaken. She was trying to clean up the broken lamp, but was shaking too much to accomplish anything. Anytime she picked up one piece she dropped it soon after due to shaking.

Lightning turned her head forward as Amodar lead the way down the hall. Once inside he shut the door and put his hand up to his hair and ran it through softly. He walked over to his desk and grabbed his water and took a long drag from it. After one more second he turned and motioned for her to sit.

"Thanks Lightning. The public is getting a little skittish with all the monsters that are popping up around the outskirts of town."

"I think a little is a bit of an understatement." Lightning began straight faced as ever. " That man's daughter, what company is she in?"

"She is actually in yours. She's a new recruit. But, she left camp at the highest in her group. And has already begun training with a blazefire. I put her in your group because your group has a certain feel to it. Perfect for the mission you are about to embark on. I'm sending your company out 10 clicks from the northwest rails. A group of about 50 Hedge Frogs are destroying farms. It should be a very easy mission. But because of the fact that every time we send someone out there to take care of it, the monsters come back doubled. Your company will be out there for two weeks. Find the source and stop it. You will leave at five hundred hours tomorrow morning."

"Sounds like fun." Lightning's voice was hard. She really didn't care where she was going, but she thought she would be facing harder monsters than some Hedge Frogs. "Sir." She saluted and about faced. Just before she was out the door Amodar asked for her to wait.

"There will be some NORA members in the area. So try to keep them safe and don't kill em' yourself okay?" He had a pleading look in his eyes. Everyone who knew Snow and Lightning knew that they did not get along. Well, more like Lightning refused to get along with Snow.

"Yes sir." Her voice was cold. That was the last thing she needed, to have Snow get in the way. Or better yet, get himself killed and Sarah never forgiving her for letting him die. "May I ask sir, why would civilians be in the area?"

With a sigh, he looked up at Lightning, who looked quite angry.

"Instead of fighting with them all the time, it has been decided that they have their own branch of the military."

A almost dark chuckle escaped from Lightnings lips.

"What all six of them?" Lightning look straight into his eyes. Eagerly awaiting his reply.

"They have already gotten 40 new recruits this month alone. They are now sitting at 100 strong. By next year, it is estimated that they will have close to four hundred people." He cast his eyes downward in order to avoid the glares that he knew Lightning was bound to give him.

"Okay. I will go prepare for the mission." And with that she soluted, turned and left.

Amodar looked in wonder as she quietly shut the door behind her.

She wasn't angry! I've been holding this for almost two months now. Maybe I underestimated her short fuse. Or, possibly her dislike for Snow. But, there is the fact that she really is pissed and just masking it like she hides everything else.

Lightning passed through the hallway and back into the room with the assistant. She could see that the assistant had finally got all the big pieces, and had vacuumed all of the smaller bits. She walked over to the elevator and pressed the button. The doors opened and she stepped in. Flashing her card at the controls she pressed the button for ground floor. People down below had seen her coming down in the glass elevator and began moving out of the way before it even stopped. The doors opened, and Lightning stepped out and walked swiftly to the front of the building. She just wanted to leave and be alone with her thoughts. She pushed through the doors and looked out onto the street. To her right she found her motorcycle on its kickstand. She briskly walked over to it and secured her gunblade. She jammed the key into the ignition and revved it up. Taking off, she quickly blended into traffic. She began taking back roads to avoid people. She pushed the bike faster, Slowly she was clearing her head. Until she saw her sisters car up ahead turning on to the street. Lightning saw her sisters face in the drivers seat. The face she saw was a face of terror. Lightning disregarded it. She did not need for her sister to worry about her.

Much quicker than normal Lightning got to the garage at her complex. She shut the engine off, put the kickstand up. Covering her motorcycle with its cover, she headed to the front door. Unlocking the door, she walked in putting her keys on the hook by the door. The house was tidy. In fact, if you could find a speck of dust it would be like finding a four leaf clover. The house almost looked like no one lived in it. On the right was the kitchen. Stainless steel, and had no fingerprints on it. No dishes in the sink either. On the right was a beautiful and massive, white grand piano. On the other side of the wall from that was a massive flat screen tv. With a sectional that could accommodate 15 people. The glass wall of windows was brilliant, you could see a clear view of the ocean. Down further to the right you could see Lebreau's shack and restaurant. Lightning turned to the stairs and began going up them to her room. The winding stairs were made out of a light wood and a darker carpet. The railing was white and had ivy leaf designs all over it. When Lightning reached the top step her phone began to buzz. Still continuing to her room, she pulled out her phone to see who it was. With a sigh she opened her phone and brought it to her ear.

"Hello." Lightning said in her usual voice.

"What the hell do you think you were doing? Driving so fast on that road! And you didnt even wave at me! You just ignored me and continued on your way! Do you understand what would've happened if you got into a crash?" Serah was frantic on the other side of the phone clearly out of breath.

"Last time I checked, I am an adult. I can drive how ever the hell I want to. And secondly why the hell is my BABY SISTER yelling at me?" Lightnings voice was calm and collected most of the sentence. "And shouldn't you be lecturing your husband? Starting an army and running off to fight monsters without any real training? Now that sounds stupid." Only a hint of anger could be found in her voice now. It was more of what sounded like coldness.

"There is now way winning this is there? Anyways other than that, I called you to ask you to watch out for Snow tomorrow. Please don't let him do anything reckless. And please be careful yourself. I don't know what I would do if I lost either one of you.."

"Alright, we will be careful. but you should still talk to that oaf of a husband." Lightning yawned she needed to get some sleep before tomorrows mission. "Good night Serah."

"Okay, good night Lightning." Lightning heard the phone click on the other side and closed her phone to put it back in the pocket. She walked in the door of her room. She put her phone on the charger and set her alarm clock to go off at four. She took off her uniform and hung it up in her closet. Taking her boots in one hand, and a brush and some shiner in the other, she sat down in a recliner and began to shine her boots.

Now Snow is going to be there and I have to watch him and make sure he comes back. Why would the military let some kids without real training go in the military. It is ridiculous, my company can barely keep themselves alive let alone some kids.

After making sure her boots were sufficiently shined, she began sharpening her gunblade. Letting her mind wander off again.

Sarah must be worried. Having her sister and her husband off on a mission. Besides the fact that were always at each others throat. He is just so incompetent. He acts just like, well better not let myself go back there.

Her gunblade was finished. She returned it to her holister and went to her bed. Setting her gunblade next to her on her bedside table, she fell into bed. After getting back into bed, she put music on her music player. The song began.

My day is coming, My day is coming up soon.

And i'll be waiting, and i'll be waiting in my room.

And i've been thinking, I've been thinking about my life.

And no i'm not scared, but hell, i'm horrified.

And if I just stay here

I can avoid all the car accidents

And all those accidental deaths

And all the accidental death

And if I just stay here

All alone, I know I can't stop the lightning bolts

And all the natural disasters

The natural disasters

This room room feels safe, but it's burning down

Until I'm six feet underground

'Cause I know, I'm gonna die

Because I know, I'm gonna die soon

I know I'm gonna die soon

Take what you want from me

I swear to god that I'm done


	2. Past

**DISCLAIMER***

**SO THIS NEXT CHAPTER HAS SOME VERY ADULT THEMES. PLEASE READ WITH CAUTION. SWEARING AND SEXUAL THINGS. PLEASE READ WITH CAUTION.**

SO as always if you do not like reading those kind of things then you probably shouldn't read this.

I do not own final fantasy 13 in any way, shape, or form.

Thanks to who ever is reading this. I do appreciate it. Oh and I almost forgot to mention, in the last chapter I noticed that it spelled Serah's name like Sarah. So I am sorry about that.

Hope you all enjoy

Love

Kyrialisa

Chapter two

"Oh come on now baby. You know you want to." He had on the most revolting smile I have ever seen. His eyes were dancing across my exposed chest. I was scared, scared for my life and for Serah's life too. She was only a little kid, what would she do without me, how would she provide for herself?I have a job delivering groceries to homes from the local store. That is how I got in this mess. A stupid delivery, and now who knows how it could end.

At this point, I felt utterly beaten. Not just the physical way, but emotional too. I have literally been drugged, battered, and ultimately broken. And no one could help me. Me, at a mere age of fifteen facing this. Trust me, it changed my life.

"Come on over here baby!" all three boys advanced. I was laying on the ground completely defenseless. One straddled me, another one had my head in between his legs and was holding my arms. The last one was looking away scared, halfheartedly holding my legs. The boy straddling me had crystal blue eyes and dark brown hair. And in his sinister smile, a couple of teeth missing. The second was blond, with hazel eyes and gold specks. The third, the one who didn't look like he wanted to be here, had reddish brownish hair with deep brown eyes. He looked sorry, like none of this was ever supposed to happen.

I fought with all my might. But everything slowed down once I saw the syringe and needle. Then I started screaming as if the world was going to fall down on me in that one second.

"Shut the fuck up!" The one straddling me slapped me across the face. He quickly put the needle into my arm as the one with hazel eyes held them tight. I felt a drug induced calm go over my whole body, as I lay still. I had been beaten, I have lost, and more than likely, I will never see my sister again.

The boy that was on top of me got off and turned around. I saw an opening and took it. The other two boys were relaxed, as they thought I would no longer fight. But I kicked, and I hit till they me go. I got up and started running. I felt as if I was running through a lake of syrup. Everything was so heavy. The sides of my vision were extremely blurry. But as I stumbled I ran into a metal trash can and fell back to the ground hard.

Then the laughter began from two of the boys.

"I will hurt you! So you better stay back!" The two boys began laughing hysterically. The third? He looked awkwardly to the ground. He suddenly spoke up for the first time.

"Shit John, we've scared her! We should just let her go now. She won't remember any of this if we do." He looked at them pleading.

"Enough you little pussy! Okay Sammy, why don't you walk her home and say sorry to everyone there! Plus I love it when they fight back." The darkness that was so clearly shown from his eyes seemed to glow now. He advanced towards me. I turned and tried my best to get up, but I felt like I couldn't use my arms or my legs. They felt as if they were made out of honey. They stuck to everything they touched, and would not come unglued. I started a feeble crawl. Anything to get to that street. Anything to get someplace where someone might see me and help me.

He grabbed my shoulder and flipped me on to my back. His other hand reached out and grabbed a handful of hair. I looked to the street one last time. Knowing it was my only hope, and knowing, that I would never reach it.

"Hold on John, we should take her inside. What if someone sees us out here?"

"Ah hell, that will take to long. We've wasted enough time. And I cannot wait any longer. He let go of my hair and my shoulder, and reached down for his pants. He unbuttoned them while smiling at me. I took the chance and kicked him as hard as I could in the crotch. He fell to the ground, grabbing himself in pain.

I got back onto my stomach and began to crawl once more. I was so close, I could see the street. Just a little bit further.

My foot was caught, and I was dragged backwards. My bare chest now bleeding by how fast my body was dragged across the hard concrete. Blood smears decorated the sidewalk leading to the house.

"You little bitch! You will pay!" His eyes burned in hatred and lust. He had dragged me far enough that I was right next to the door. He pushed Sammy down to the ground.

"Jeff, wait! You don't have to hurt her." Sammy said.

"Fuck you! I'm not wasting this! And i'm not going to ruin it by her getting away." Jeff was almost yelling now.

Jeff punched Sammy in the gut. Sammy fell to the ground. John was down still grabbing himself, and now Sammy was down and out of breath. I only had to take Jeff down.

Maybe I can make it out of here alive. I only have to take this sick bastard down. I can do this.

Jeff ran at me and kicked me in the side. A sick pop came from my ribs. He got on his knees and began punching me in the stomach and face. I couldn't see out of my right eye by the time he had finished with is rage. A cloth was then pressed up against my face. I didn't breathe but, my instincts told me to go limp.

"There you go, you stupid dumb bitch." Putting the cloth in a plastic bag and putting it in his back pocket. He removed the top part of his pants. His penis was sticking straight out. He grabbed my hand and put it around it. With his hands on top he rubbed it back and forth. He let go and went for my pants. He removed them with ease despite my feeble struggles. I closed my legs together in hopes of stopping him from what he was about to do.

"You little whore. I can see it in your eyes. You know you want to fuck me." His hand reached up and forced my mouth open. Leaning up he put his hard dick into my mouth. I bit down hard. And to my pleasure he screamed like a little girl.

"Damn it! Fuck you, you little bitch!" He finally gotten out and began beating on me again. When he was done, I felt inches from death.

"You wouldn't want us to go go after your sister now would you? Because it wouldn't be hard to get poor little Serah." Pure fury burned within me. Hatred so strong, hatred I never imagined was even possible. I would never allowed him to get within a mile of her.

"You touch her, I will cut off your dick." Her voice was as cold as ice. A shiver ran up Jack's body. He lifted his arm and landed one powerful punch into her stomach. She struggled for air as it felt that there was none in her body. She felt the cloth next to her face once again but this time, in order to save Serah, she would breathe deeply. She hoped that it would either just make her forget it all or kill her.

"Then you better cooperate with us." I took another deep breath. Please don't remember anything. Please! Etro, please I beg for mercy. Don't make me remember this!

"Now, thats a good little girl." My whole body went limp. every single muscle was relaxed. And I started to drift into sleep. The last thing I remember was him slipping into me. But by the time he was fully in. I was already completely gone.

Why Etro? Why do I have to remember this?

My body was stiff and I was gasping for air. My gunblade held so tight in my hand that it shook. the gun pointed at the door to my room. My whole body tensed, ready for battle. Just waiting for a target. There was no target.

Lightning! get ahold of yourself! It was a dream, nothing more. Serah is home safe, and you are in your own bed.

I slowly relaxed my body. First my toes then my feet. Next was the legs, thighs, abdomen, back, shoulders, neck, arms. A shrill alarm went off and my whole body tensed once again. I was now holding my gunblade, in gun form, to my cellphone. I sat there aimed at it for 20 seconds. Controlling my breathing with the space in between rings. I turned the alarm off. I began the process all over again. I had something like phantom pain in my right ribs, and it felt as if my head was his by a truck.I was also covered in sweat. I put my head in between my knees and began taking deep, elongated breaths. My heart rate slowly began to drop to a normal range. I got off of my bed and striped it of all the sheets and blankets. Rolling them into a ball, I tossed them into the bottom of the closet. I didn't normally do things such as this but I really didn't want to deal with it right this second. When I had finished I grabbed my music player and headed to the shower. I turned the water on cold hoping that it would clear my mind. I put the music up as high as it would go. The song began playing again.

My day is coming, my day is coming up soon.

And i'll be waiting, i'll be waiting in my room.

And i've been thinking, i've been thinking about my life.

And no i'm not scared, but hell i'm horrified.

The words repeated in my mind.

My day is coming up soon. I put myself into dangerous situations every single day.

And i'll be waiting in my room. I feel like I have my comfort zone and no one will ever penetrate it.

And i've been thinking about my life. It seems like my life now, is just remembering what happened then. And thinking I could of done it different, possibly even better.

And no i'm not scared, but hell i'm horrified. Everything was taken away from me. Everything, my innocence. And now i'm cold and hard. unable to trust anyone. I have no one left to protect. Serah is protected by Snow. I don't like him, but Serah has chosen him. He swears to protect her. I wonder if I had died in that car accident with our parents, if Serah would of never of met that oaf. And Those boys threatening to harm her, none of that would've happened. I have made a bad contribution to this world. To my sisters life.

I feel completely useless. I have nothing to live for anymore.

I sat there with my thoughts for a minute. I shut off the water and dried myself. Wrapped in the towel I walked back to my room thinking of the last line of that song. I absentmindedly put on my clothes.

"Take what you want from me, I swear to god that i'm done."


	3. New

**Hey! So a couple of people posted reviews that they were waiting on the next chapter. To those people I must give a giant thank you! **

**Also thanks to everyone who said that you liked the story! I'm glad that people like it! **

**Also if anyone notices that there are any mistakes please let me know. I do not have a beta reader and just use on of my close friends as a test subject. So thank you to him If he ever reads this on here! Once again thank you for reading and telling me what you liked and what you didn't. I love to read them!**

**And on this last note to everyone who is reading this, I am truly sorry it took me so long to put up this chapter. I work in health care, and lately all my favorite patients are dying on me. So I got kinda depressed. Also I have an addiction to Tumblr. And reading other stories on Fanfic. So once again thank you to those who wrote in saying that you were waiting. It really meant a lot to hear from all of you. And got my ass back in gear to finish polishing up this chapter so it was ready to post.**

**So thank you all once again,**

**Love, Kyrialisa.**

Chapter 3

Everything was set, she was ready to go. She locked the front door behind her and walked down to where her motorcycle was located. Pulling the cover off, she looked at the sky and thought of the weather. There weren't really any clouds in the sky, but it was unusually cold. It felt like it would warm up throughout the day. She quickly jumped on her motorcycle, and put the key in the ignition in a fluid movement. It shortly roared to life. Kicking up the kickstand, she took off. Heading towards the GC building, she noticed how few cars were on the road. The few people who were driving looked like they were about to pass out at the wheel.

_I guess it is kinda early._

Lightning arrived at headquarters. She looked down and pulled out her small flip phone checking the time.

_No wonder why they looked like they were about to pass out. Its 4:10 in the morning._

Lightning examined the area where a couple people were scurrying around doing things. Currently the only people who were there were the airship drivers and the loading crew, the take off crew, and surprisingly, Amodar. Sure he is the leader, but he usually got there just before take off time. With what was mostly the whole crew, save a couple. Lightning walked over to Amodar.

"Sir!" Lightning snapped into attention and saluted. Amodar slowly turned around.

"Looks like you are ready to go, and early too. Also drop the formalities Lightning." He smiled slightly. "There is no need for these kind of formalities from friends." Lightning thought about it for a moment. Amodar was like a father to Lightning and Serah. In fact, he was best friends with their father before he died. He and Amodar served together in the same company for many years before both of them were promoted to leading groups. The groups are now legendary to the guardian corps. They were praised as some of the bravest men alive. A common discussion was if someone were to pin the two groups together who would come out. Of course the two had heard of it and decided that their friendship was more important than seeing whose group was better.

"Okay, may I ask you a question?" Amodar was taken aback a little. Lightning dropped formalities just like that. He was also excited. He never really had that close of a relationship with Lightning. After Lightnings mother died, He took them in willingly. It took four months after her death before they showed up at his door. A badly beaten up Lightning and a scared to hell and back Serah knocked on his door at 1:30 at night in the freezing cold. We let them in and gave them both a cup of hot chocolate. After idle talking for about an hour, Serah had fallen asleep. Lightning held her in her lap, unwilling to let herself go to sleep. Amodar went and got some blankets and put them lightly on top of Serah and Lightning. He asked her what happened. She replied that she didn't want to talk about it. Months later we asked her once again. This time she said that it didn't matter. Frustrated with the answers Lightning was giving me I went to Serah to ask her. Serah told me that one night she returned from work late. She was bruised and bleeding, and walked like she was drunk. She informed me that when she had asked, Lightning told her to never ask about it again and stormed off angry. The next day she quit her job and packed what little possessions they had. They showed up two days later.

Lightning never opened up to anyone, he knew of, about what had happened. She actually closed herself off completely. She became the lightning known today. Cold, expressionless, calculated, and quite reserved.

"Sure, shoot." He turned his head towards Lightning, full attention on her. She shifted her position on her feet, clearly uncomfortable. To clear her mind, she turned her head towards the ship, pretending to watch the ship being loaded.

"What are you not telling me about the mission?" By the tone in her voice it was more of a statement than a question. As to make sure Amodar was understanding her question she stared at the heavy guns and large mana drives they were loading onto the ship.

Why would we need large mana drives and heavy weaponry for Hedge Frogs?

"I don't know what you mean." He looked at Lightning and sighed. Under his coat he pulled out a yellow folder that read 'confidential' and 'top secret' on the face of the folder in bold red letters. Lightning had seen the folders before. They were usually in his office, and on some occasions, she would see them at the house. Sometimes he would leave them out at the table. Lightning had many opportunities to look into the folder, but she never did. She felt it wasn't her place. She had even transported them for missions. She had never read one before. He held the folder out towards her not even looking at her. Lightning did not grab the folder. It wasn't her job to know, it was her job to be told what was needed to be done. People who read those were the people who were tasked to figure out how to solve the problem. People like her were tasked to solve the problem by doing what she was told by the people who had the folders. He looked over at Lightning when she didn't grab the folder from him.

"Its not going to bite, you know." She turned back towards the ship still not grabbing the folder.

"The heavy weapons and the large mana drives. Do we really need to use Rocket launchers on Hedge Frogs?" She turned back to him, her face back from the hesitant to her usual mask. She stared into his eyes.

"Yeah, I guess I should of thought that you would notice. You are correct, it is not a regular mission, but it would be easier if you just read the folder Lightning." He laughed a little. "You should also get used to reading them." He smiled gently at her.

"And why is that?" She glanced at him.

"You are being promoted. Congrats, you are being promoted to Lieutenant You will be taking over this company of troops." His face lifted. It may have been the largest smile she had ever seen on him.

"Sir," Lightning going back into formalities after the news. "I'm taking over your position?" She had a question in her eyes. Amodar could tell she was not scared but felt as if he better tell her that she would be okay anyways.

"Yes, and I know you will do great. The higher ups called and told me that they wanted me the head of all the groups in Bodhum and the smaller groups around the area." Still with a bright smile on his face he offered her the folder once again. "So Lieutenant, today is the first day that you will be leading this whole company. I will not be accompanying you on this mission." Lightning had a small smile on her face. He knew why. It made his heart lighten when he saw that smile, no matter how small it was. "Don't look too happy Farron! You still have to get all of these solders asses following you in fear!" booming laughter coming from him now. A couple people looked over, and Lightning quickly hid her smile. She did not want anyone else seeing that smile. "I'm just glad that I get to leave the group to you. If it was anyone else I would have been scared!" More people started showing up, they quickly put their gear in the airship and stood in their small groups of friends.

Lightning looked at the groups as they formed. It was easy to tell who the new recruits were. They stood in the back in a group, talking softly. It was as if they were trying their best not to draw attention. Lightning remembered her first day, she had stood in the middle. She successfully avoided all attention that time. The next mission, however, turned into her yelling at a more experienced solder.

Lightning looked around and noticed a face that she did not recognize. This girl stood in the front, arms folded, and looked straight ahead. Lightning stared at her, she realized that there was something oddly familiar with this particular person.

_She's probably just some new recruit. Either she's too confident to the point of cockiness, or she hasn't realized what shes done. Hmm, it is kind of odd. Why do I feel like I recognize her is some way?_

The girls hair was brown and curly, and she had light brown eyes. Her posture spoke that she was uncomfortable, but her eyes spoke of utter urgency and complete confidence. She shifted her weight from leg to leg quite often. She also had other nervous habits. She would reach up and play with her hair, shuffle her feet a little, bite her lower lip on the side, and unfold and refold her arms often. Lightning looked more closely at her facial features, high cheekbones and full lips. She had full lips and a big forehead.

I bet that she is that man's daughter, the one from the office incident.

"Permission to speak sir?" Lightning turned to him

"Gonna start up again with the formalities? Permission to speak freely." He emphasized on the word freely.

"The man arrested at headquarters, is that his daughter?" She turned quickly and nodded in the girls direction.

"I see you noticed that too. I guess nothing gets past you does it? I found it odd that even after what happened she still wanted to go on this mission. I told her to wait, skip out on this mission, but she insisted profusely.. And here she is, standing in the front of the company. Even people who have already served one term are apprehensive to step up to that." He looked at her with a tinge of sadness in his eyes.

"How many people heard about the incident?" Lightning kept her voice even and low. Careful so that no one would overhear their conversation. She had a small feeling in her chest.

"Not many, I ordered the officers to keep quiet about it all." Amodar thought that Lightning must have cared even somewhat if she was asking questions.

Lightning had no friends in the company. She never spoke to anyone in their group on a personal level. He knew that she had no friends outside of work either. It made him worry. After about a year of Serah moving out and getting married, he hoped that someone would interest Lightning. She still kept her distance from anything personal. And now, he saw this girl as an opportunity to change that.

"Will you keep an eye on her for me? I'm worried that her fathers incident will affect her on the field." He side glanced at her waiting for her response and reaction.

"She shouldn't be a soldier if she lets her personal life change what she does on the field." She briefly paused, thinking about the situation. "But sure, her being a new one and all."

Lightning gave him a small nod and walked towards her spot in formation. A small smile formed on Amodar's face. Amodar looked up from the ground wiping the smile on his face. He called for their attention.

"Okay soldiers, here is what is going on. Your mission is to destroy an outbreak of Hedge Frogs. Find the source of the problem and destroy it. Also, from here on out I will no longer be leading the missions or our company." A feeling of uneasiness came across the group. Even Lightning felt it. "From now on Sergeant Farron will be leading you. I wish you all the best luck on your mission. You will get your assignments from Farron on the ship." Amodar saluted and walked away. Lightning stepped forward and turned a quick 180.

"Now listen up, I hate repeating myself! I do not care how you feel. We have a mission, and we are going to do it with no casualties. Now load up and lets head out."

The soldiers saluted and went in line to the ship. Someone let out a small cough behind her back. She turned back and saw Amodar.

"I'm sorry I forgot to give you the file." He held it out for her to take. "It has everybody's face sheets and I wrote out assignments for you just to help out. Change it however you like. Its more of a outline if you will." He let out a small chuckle. "Oh and good luck Lightning."

"Thank you, Amodar." She saluted one more time and turned to get on the ship.

Lightning stood, and yelled forward.

"Well what the hell are we waiting for!" The pilots quickly turned and got in their seats. The doors lifting. Lightning walked forward to the top of the ship into the pilot's pit. She closed the door behind her and began reading the file.

"What's our ETA?" Lightning looked at the co-pilot.

"Two hours ma'am." He responded quickly and kept his eyes forward.

Lightning thought the assignments were okay she looked through them and decided that at this point there was no reason to change them. She looked at the face sheets next. Memorizing everyone's faces to their names. After about an hour she stood and walked to the back. And was quickly angry at the mess of people around her. Peoples personal bags were on the floor, soldiers were on the ground wrestling, and one was even bleeding. A few soldiers noticed her entrance. They quickly sat in their seats and looked anywhere but at her. Lightning clicked her tongue. Some of the soldiers heard it and quickly stopped. Seeing as some of the others were cowering in fear, the two wrestling in the center looked up. Their faces slowly recognizing what happened, turned to horror. Lightning quickly walked up and grabbed the collar of the one on top. He gasped, he was then thrown against the wall of the ship. Lightning then grabbed the foot of the other man and almost chucked him against the wall in the back of the ship. They continued to look at her in complete horror. Lightning hid a small smile.

_How's that for keeping their asses in line with fear._

"Hey sarge, we were just blowing off some steam." A young man said. He wasn't a newbie but still pretty green. He had a small smile on his face.

_Apparently not..._

"No you listen here. I have a man bleeding before we even reach the mission site. How the hell are you all supposed to be up to your fullest if you are injured. This is not okay, and none of your fucking bullshit can make it okay." Lightnings face was still calm,but it had such a look to it that would make a Fal'cie cower in fear. Her voice was as cold as the coldest winter ever recorded in cocoon history. Everyones backs were pressed to the walls. All looking at her in disbelief. "You have until the time I come back to have everything cleaned up and back in your seats. Do I make myself clear?"

"YES MA'AM!" They all shouted and scurried to clean as fast as they could. Lightning went to turn on her heel, but paused briefly, noticing the one lone girl as she stood at the back of the transport without moving. She had all of her stuff next to her and was looking at the dropping bay door. She didn't say anything and didn't move. Lightning decided that it was okay. Not like she did much different.

She continued to walk towards the cockpit leaving the hustling soldiers behind.

"Bitch..." a man said just barely audible. She heard the cracking sound of flesh hitting skin.

"Shut the hell up man." A strained whisper hushed him.

Lightning let out a small chuckle that only she could hear. The cockpit door opened and she looked at the pilots. They both had big smiles on their faces but said nothing.

_I feel like this is going to be a very long mission..._


	4. The Mission

**Heyro everyone! I would like to thank you all for putting in reviews. I love to read them. For the those who are asking when hope will be introduced, I am planning on Hope coming into the story I just wanted you all to see everything before he comes in, so maybe two or three more chapters.**

**This chapter is kind of short. And I am sorry about that. But with how I wrote the story this chapter has to be short. The next chapter will be longer. And hopefully I will have it up soon. **

**And for those who wrote me to get feeling better I am! It still sucks, but its the profession I got into. But thank you for your concern.**

**I am sorry it takes me so long to update I work 5 days a week. They are also NOC shifts so If im not working Im sleeping. I will try to be better in the future with updating.**

**WELL ANYWAYS! Here is chapter 4. Things will pick up next chapter!**

Chapter 4

Lightning sat once again in the cockpit looking over the assignments.

_Maybe I should put those two men on night watch. That would be a decent punishment._

Lightning changed the names and looked at her phone to tell her what time it was. She had left them alone for about twenty minutes. She stood and organized her papers once again. Just before she turned to go into the bay area, she looked out the pilots windows at the area they were in. It had tall trees, and cliffs. It was beautiful, but as she looked further ahead she could see they were on the edge of cocoon. The view ahead was of mountains and metal pieces around it, and some particular pieces laying on top at some of the most odd angles. None of it looked as if it should be there. Lightning stood from her leaning position to see out of the windows, and turned to the door to where they were all waiting. Lightning pushed the door open and several faces turn towards her. Some looked at her with fear, others with some sort of admiration. And one, with no expression at all. This one caught her attention fast. Lightning kept her face as smooth as it could ever be, and looked at the one lone girl. Its like she suddenly realized that Lightning was staring at her and she snapped out of her thoughts. A look of confusion and a hint of fear was in her eyes. But the pride she still held herself with was shining brightly. Lightning cleared her throat and began to speak.

"Okay here are your assignments. They will be posted here for everyone to see. Also these are your loadout assignments and set up assignments. But remember the number next to your name. The next set of assignments will be posted outside of the HQ tent in the middle of the camp. So, everyone should know where they are supposed to be at all times. Do I make myself clear?" Lightning looked around to see everyone saluting and yelling yes ma'am. "Good, now get ready we should be landing soon. Also, I want camp set up in two hours. If you go past the two hours, we will run a mile for every minute you go over." Lightning watched as the faces turned back to worry and horror. Even the girl in the corner looked a little pale. Lightning turned back to the cockpit and closed the door. She leaned up against it waiting to hear some foot steps to look at the assignment sheet. After two minutes of her going back to the front she heard a stampede of feet all running up to the door. They began plans as how to get everything done as fast as they could. This is what Lightning wanted, everyone working together to reach one goal. Even if they were all against her, she knew it would make them a better team.

"Ma'am, we are almost to the landing site. ETA is five minutes." The co-pilot spoke softly. As the pilot laughed a little.

"Is something funny, Sawyer?" Lightning turned a cold gaze onto the pilot.

"Um, No ma'am! Nothings funny!" He was starting to sweat. Lightning saw the perfect opportunity to make sure that no one in the company would be ever doubting or questioning her.

"Oh really? Then explain to me why you were laughing." Sawyer swallowed hard, knowing that if he said the wrong thing he could be in a world of hurt.

"It really was nothing ma'am. Just my imagination running off." He took a quick side glance at Lightning in which he saw that she still had a look that pierced his soul deep.

"Well if that was it I would appreciate it if you kept your damn imagination to your self." Lightning then turned toward the bay area and opened the door. She found all of her soldiers lined up and with all of their stuff packed neatly. Personal bags were on everyones person and safety gear was at the ready to be used at any moment. They looked ready, now it was time to see if they were ready.

"You all better be ready! This is not going to be an easy mission. We are up against an outbreak of hedge frogs, but there have been reports of noises and roars that make many think that there are larger monsters also in the surrounding area. These hedge frogs, when killed, come back with twice the power in numbers. So, our mission is to find defend the surrounding area and find the source of the outbreak. Clear?"

"Yes ma'am!" They all had a look of anticipation on their faces. Lightning felt the ship shift slightly. She knew this movement like it was breathing. the doors opened slightly and she felt the ship land a little too hard. But they had landed safely. The company loaded off and ran over to the cargo ship that had everything else in it.

The bustle of the troops made the campsite look like a giant honeycomb. Everything was being done in an organized fashion. Lightning hid a small smile. She headed to where her tent would be. She removed small rocks, and laid out a tarp for her tent. She went over to where the rest of the troops had put all of the tents. She found hers and brought it back to the tarp she had just laid out. Swiftly setting it up she looked at her tent with a small sense of accomplishment. She checked the time. They had twenty minutes left. She looked around to see that they had only two of the ten tents set up. She laughed a little and sat back to watch.

_"It looks like we have a long run planned ahead of us."_


	5. Injury

**Hello everyone! Took a long time to get this one up, but here it is! **

**Thank you to everyone who has sent in reviews. I absolutely love to read them. They make my day a little brighter. **

**I am sorry it took so long for this one to get posted. But who knew that getting everything ready to move to the other side of the country was so exhausting and time consuming? But soon it will be over and done with **

**So enjoy!**

**Love **

**Kyrialisa.**

Chapter 4 Injury

Lightning was leaning back outside her tent. Her eyes were closed, she was intently listening to the sounds and voices of her company getting camp set up. All in all, they had actually done a good job. The camp was set up just after the mark. They had only went ten minutes over. Lightning had a sense of pride. Not only of how fast they had set up, but at the fact they had worked together and coordinated accordingly. In a couple of instances, one soldier would complain about the job they were given or how their Lieutenant was an "ignorant bitch", and another soldier would act as a voice of reason and simply state that they had no time for complaints. Lightning's plan had worked exceedingly well. When the camp had seized in activity, Lightning straightened up and walked around the camp to take a look. Much to her surprise, it appeared to look like they had taken their time setting up. Even though it was rushed. Lightning knew the tricks, seeing the way some of her own comrades would skip out on putting a case in its rightful place to sliding it into a tent that would be used for eating or a personal tent to be moved later when the Lieutenant wasn't around. Lightning started with the tent on the farthest from hers. She began to move towards it when she heard footsteps leading away from the group towards some other tents.

Without turning around she decided to ask some important questions. "Where do you think you are going?"

The footsteps froze, and she heard a sharp intake of air. "To the Head ma'am." It was a Males voice. It shook considerably.

"Is that so? Well you can wait till I am done with my investigation." Lightning's voice was cold and hard. Despite the ever so small smirk on her face.

"O-okay." The male slightly turned and hid behind the nearest soldier.

"No one move until I am finished." Lightning continued to walk forward.

After checking the first two tents thoroughly, she began to walk past them.

"Everyone follow me." Lightning called a couple of tents ahead of them. The company began to run towards her and a decent speed. Lightning would pass a tent so that everyone else was right in front of the tent. She would walk towards it, and if anyone showed any sign that something was hidden, she would go inside and check.

Lightning found a total of five infractions. But one stood out to her. It was a conveniently placed box of weapons placed behind everything in the tent. It was a personal tent, So Lightning went through the personal items to see who exactly it was. Alice Wright, the girl who stood at the corner of the transport, the one who seemed to keep to herself. This was an interesting twist in Lightning's mind. She was sure that this girl would do what she could to avoid getting her attention. Lightning then grabbed the box and walked it to its rightful place. Setting it down, Lightning turned and continued on.

Lightning now had them all doing 100 push-ups for the mistakes. When she had stated that they would be doing push ups for, one soldier said that the people who made the mistakes should be the ones who served the punishment. Lightning entertained the thought.

"Fine, if someone comes forward about the box of weapons." Lightning looked over to Alice with a glare. She stood her ground and did not look away.

She is lasting up pretty nicely to my glare. Is she not guilty?

"I wasn't the one who set up that tent. And my stuff shouldn't be in there. Its not my tent." She said evenly.

Lightning keeping her glare, thought about it for a second. Why would her stuff be in there if it wasn't her tent.

"Okay tell me who set up the tent otherwise you will be doing the push-ups." Lightning watched her face. It began strongly, but slowly faded into deep thought, in the end she came to a realization and looked towards the one she thought setup the tent. He had a face that clearly stated the fear written upon it. The same one who had made the suggestion to make the guilty pay for the crime. Alice turned back to Lightning and cleaned her face of emotion.

"I don't know. I will do the punishment." She kept her head up. Lightning nodded, and she took to the ground. As Alice began her punishment, Lightning watched twenty five in, another soldier decided to go to the ground to complete the push-ups with her. Soon enough everyone in the company was on the ground except one. He waited till the last ten then dropped to the ground. After it was completed everyone stood up at attention. Lightning was internally impressed and happy. She would do everything in her power to not let it show.

"Permission to speak freely?" One spoke.

"Permission granted." Lightning turned her gaze on him.

"It was Jason who set up the tent. He is also the one who put her stuff in that tent." He looked towards Lightning with a little bit of fear in his eyes.

"Now tell me, why would he do that?" Lightning was curious.

"He wanted to stay in the same tent as her. All of us were supposed to be parred up in the tents . But with one of the extra tents missing and two people having their own tent. He set it up so that he could be in the same tent."

"You fucking little nark!" Jason began to run at him. Lightning was not going to let that happen. She easily pulled out her gun blade and ran at Jason. Lightning grabbed the back of his collar and spun him around. Pointing the tip of her blade right at his neck he stopped and stared in utter fear.

"You want to fight? Fine then. Alice go grab a gun blade out of the locker in the supplies tent."

"Gladly." Alice took off running

"Now come on, we can solve this peacefully." He could not tear his face away from the dangerous weapon held at such a vulnerable spot.

"That chance was made when you decided to break my orders. First, even coming up with the idea that you could sleep in the same tent as a female and second by putting a box of weapons in the tent. Now explain to me why the weapons were necessary."

"She began walking towards the tent and I wanted to get out quickly. She was looking for her stuff and asking people where I was. I couldn't risk her finding her stuff in the tent with mine. So I left it and ran." He was sweating profusely.

"Here is the gun blade." Alice had a smile in her voice.

"Give it to him." Lightning didn't look away.

"Yes ma'am." Alice walked towards him holding the gun blade down. She got to his side and began to give him the gun blade. But in the second he was about to grab it she swiftly put the gun blade to his legs. With the blunt side of the blade she tripped him onto the ground. She folded the gun blade into gun mode and put the safety on. She threw the gun on top of him.

"You might want to take that if you want to live, pervert." She walked towards the back of the group that was now making a circle.

"Get up, I haven't got all day." Her voice was colder and annoyed. Everyone looked at her like evil had reincarnated into her being that very moment. He stood and turned the safety off of the gun. He flipped it out into blade mode.

Lightning lowered her weapon and pretended to look uninterested, and like she was not paying attention. Just as she expected he lunged towards her. Right before the blade touched her she snapped and parried the blade. This put is exposed back to her mercy. With speed that was truly matched and only by the element lightning, she turned her blade to the flat side and smacked his ass with a hard blow. He howled with pain. Falling to his face, he did not get back up.

"Giving up the easily? Well we might need to get you transferred to another company. You are much too weak to certainly be in any company that is associated with me." Lightning was walking right next to the blade on his right side. And as she predicted he swept the ground attempting to make her fall. She did a neat back flip and landed with grace. Jason stood up with an angry look on his face, and a stab of hatred in his eyes. Lightning stood waiting for him to strike. He came with a overhead blow. She blocked and lifted her left foot and planted it on his abdomen. Pushing with enough force, he flew off his feet and landed on his backside once again. Lightning let out a small chuckle. "Don't tell me thats all you've got? You are just a waste of my time." With a growl he lunged once again. Lightning let her blade stay to the side and simply just turned as his saber went right past her. He turned with a backhand slice. Lightning ducked, and turned so her back was towards his. He turned right and she followed. Making it so that he could not get her off of his back.

"YOU FUCKING BITCH!" He rolled forward and turned swiftly. He went with an overhead strike once again. This time lightning blocked it with her own sword. a small smile came on his face. His left hand let go of the handle of the saber and came back for a punch. Lightning saw the cockyness in his eyes, He thought he was going to get a hit on her. Lightning crouched and rolled between his legs in alarming speed. When she reached the other side she turned and once again hit his ass. But this time with her right foot. He ran forward, regaining his balance, and turned. Confusion plainly written on his face. Lightning decided enough time was wasted.

She rolled on her back and got to her feet in one swift movement. Jason was already running towards her she once again parried his attack going to the right and turning her blade ever so slightly, she left a shallow cut on his right hand. She switched her saber into her left hand. Then wrapping her right foot around his right leg, and grabbing his blade in her hand, she tripped him to the ground. Without even looking at him she ran the blade he was wielding into the ground in between his legs. With a shout, he sat there paralyzed in fear.

"You will be transferred. Now get up and go find some dignity." Lightning walked over to the tent that Alice's stuff was in and moved it to the tent next to hers. Lightning knew that if Jason tried to get into her tent, Lightning would hear it and make him pay for another attempt. Returning to the place where everyone was gathered, Lightning stood in the back. No one even noticed that she had approached. Most were still laughing and making jokes about Jason. Who, was now sitting on the edge of the camp with his head in his hands. Someone came to the left of her.

"Thank you. He has been badgering me this entire trip." Alice was keeping her voice low.

"Why didn't you tell me? I don't enjoy making fools out of people. Especially those in my company, who are under my command." Lightning briefly looked towards her. A small hint of annoyance in her eyes.

"One, I don't believe that that is true. You have a reputation of making people look like asses. Two I want to do anything to keep from drawing attention. I want to stay under the radar for the next two years as much as possible." She kept her voice even throughout the whole of her speech. Lightning was slightly baffled. She had never met anyone who could keep their heads so clear when talking about something so personal with her. Most would have started frantically explaining themselves.

"We could of handled it quietly. No one in the company would of known. I'm not one for having the whole company know something that is not their business. And as I may have a reputation, doesn't mean I enjoy doing it. People have to learn one way or another. It just so happens that what they do, sometimes affects me and what I do. I refuse to let others bad work be on what I have done for myself." Lightning was now inspecting her blade for new marks from the scuffle.

"I didn't want to get any attention from you either." Her voice had grown quiet. She almost sounded like Serah when she had gotten in trouble for not doing her homework.

"The what do you call this exactly?" Lightning turned her icy glare to Alice. She shuddered slightly.

"It would be rude of me if I didn't at least say thank you." She gave a slight smile.

"Your welcome." Lightning turned and headed towards the other side of the group. She found an opening and walked into the middle of the group. "Okay! Now that we have had our fun, everyone needs to get ready for our run. Remember to bring your water and full combat gear. I will be splitting you up into two groups. Half of the company will run the other half will stay here. We will switch off." Lightning split the groups and told them that they would be leaving in twenty minutes. She waited a minuet before she began to walk towards her tent. Once in her tent she quickly geared up and headed out towards the small group waiting. She began the warm up and they set out on their ten mile run. Lightning was on full alert of her surroundings. Nothing seemed out of place, and no wildlife seemed to be seen. After their run, Lightning got a little break waiting for the second group to ready themselves. Jason was supposed to be in the first group, but he didn't run with everyone. Lightning told everyone to stretch and warm up. She went to go find him. No one was going to get out of this run. Lightning found him on the edge of camp sitting on a log. Lightning quickly walked over to him and grabbed him by the collar.

"You are not getting out of this run. You are not going to sit here in self pity and get out of it. Do I make myself clear?"

"No! You are going to transfer me anyways! Why the hell should I do anything you say while I am still under you?" Others who have just gotten back from the run now had stopped to look at us. Jason hung his head.

"Got something to say?" Lightning yelled at them

"No ma'am!" they yelled back. The soldiers scurried away leaving Lightning and Jason alone. She turned back to him.

"Tell me why you even joined this company. You knew that this was a company that is high ranked. You had the choice of going to a lower company, they don't mind messing around." His head raised to answer.

"Because I wanted to actually do something!" He yelled. The group that was moving away had hid around one of the tents. They had now peeked around the corner again to look at Jason. Lightning looked at them once more. After making eye contact they ran away.

"Then tell me why the hell you pulled a stunt like that?" Lightning looked him in the eye. with her right hand on her hip, she stared him down.

"I did that, well, Ugh!" He shot up from where he was sitting. His hands were now on his head and he looked as if he was experiencing traumatizing emotional pain. "Because I just."

Suddenly he hit the ground. Blood was coming out of his back. Lightning looked at him for a split second, then searched for where the shot came from. She heard three other shots fired. In the distance she could see a large group of Hedge Frogs running towards the camp.

"Were under attack!" Lightning yelled. She unsheathed her Blazefire and ducked under the log. She heard others of her company yelling commands and guns readying. She got her gun function ready and took a deep breath. Getting to her feet, she turned and shot down ten of the frogs that had gotten close.

_Why are they moving so fast? They still should have been quite a ways back. I should get someplace where I can see all of my surroundings._

Lightning then ran forward to fight off another group. Quickly defeating them she looked to her left and saw a hill. She ran towards it seamlessly switching from gun to blade mode and creating a path. Once on top she could see that there were at least one hundred of them.

_Shit._

Lightning turned and ran back to camp. The barricades were set up. With a graceful and quick jump and flip, Lightning was on the other side.

"Medical group get in the middle! I want those rocket launchers in the front! Also get all the guns up there! Everyone get to your combat partner and stay with them!" Lightning got to the equipment tent and started handing out guns and weapons alike.

"Lieutenant! Alice jumped over the barricades and is engaging the enemy!" A soldier was pointing. He had fear written all over his face.

"Finish handing these out." She pointed at the weapons and ran out of the tent. Looking in the direction he pointed. She was out there, fighting about five of them. Lightning took off, jumping over the barricade once again, and switching her weapon into gun mode and taking out two of the five frogs in the process. Lightning landed and ran towards them.

Alice had her back turned fighting one off. Another jumped at her exposed back. Lightning arrived just in time to jump and switch into blade mode, and cut off its head. Alice finished the one she was fighting. She turned to see Lightning cut off the head of the frog that would of had her on the ground. Lightning rolled on the ground then shot up with a whirlwind attack and killed the last one.

"What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Lightning had anger clear on her face. Alice shrunk in.

"I was just trying to do my job!" She said.

"No. You were trying to prove yourself! How are you going to do that if you get killed in the process! Get back to the camp and manage the handing out of weapons and reloading."

"But!" She started.

"No, now go!" Lightning heard a roar. She turned to see a Kaiser Behemoth running towards the camp at an alarming speed. She took off running.

Jumping at the last second she ran her blade from one sholder to the other on the monster. It reacted in pain. Landing she turned her blade back to a gun and shot it several times. It turned towards her and began to charge. Lightning rolled and switched once again, then cut on the back of the right leg. It roared again in pain. Stumbling forward, it began to stand. As the Behemoth pulled two blades from its back a blast of shot from the left of the monster found their mark. Lightning quickly looked over to see who had fired the shots.

"No! I told you to go back to camp!" Lightning ordered to Alice.

"I couldn't just leave you kill this thing by yourself!" She remarked with a smile on her face.

The Behemoth was in a furious rage. It turned left and swiped down towards Alice's location. Alice jumped and rolled to the right. She let off another round in her gun. Lightning ran forward. Holding her blade close to her, she leapt towards the massive beast. Raising her blade above her head, she swung down in a crushing blow. The Kaiser Behemoth fell to the ground. Lightning jumped off the back of the monster and once again looked at her surroundings. The Hedge frogs were still strong in numbers. She heard airships somewhere off in the distance.

"Okay, now get back to," Lightning looked over to a horrific sight. The Behemoth that she thought was dead, had thrust its sword forward into Alice. She looked at Lightning in pure horror. "No!" Lightning ran forward and once again swung her blade down on the terrible monster. This time making sure she severed the head. Somehow, Alice was still standing. Lightning took off towards her.

"Hold still and I will get you back to camp. You will make it." Lightning said as she was thinking if it was safe enough to pull out the tip of the sword that was still protruding from her midsection.

"Lieutenant, do me one last favor. Tell my father I love him. And that I am sorry." Lightning caught her on her way down to the ground. She watched helplessly as the last little bit of light went from her eyes.

"I will." Lightning said. Lightning could not do anything in that moment. She heard something coming towards her, but could not connect thoughts. Suddenly Lightning broke through. She let Alice's body fall to the ground and turned to at least twenty Frogs, with more on the way. She began slashing through them quickly. She was in a kind of berserker mode. She really didn't know what she was doing. She just was killing anything that stood in her way. But she was taking hits here and there. She could feel them, but she didn't care. Every single one that she took, she would see Alice's lifeless body. She wanted this all to be over. She wanted them all dead. And she knew that it wouldn't be over till they all were.

She was exhausted. Bleeding from several places, she felt like she couldn't move. There were only three left in front of her. She looked at them longingly.

She lost all will to fight on. So, she fell to the ground and just waited.

_I guess it doesn't matter anymore. I've failed in leading. Two are dead, and possibly more. All from my incompetence. I should just give up. Amodar will take back charge. Or possibly, they will find someone better suited._

She looked at the Hedge frogs in front of her. They groveled at the ground and lunged forward at her. Lightning finally fell to the ground. Before they even reached her, she was passed out.


End file.
